The Myth Of Helplessness Summary

The topic of education reform has been a widely talked and debated about subject for a long period of time. Part of the debate is whether or not education reform will be able to actually work if the social issues surrounding the schools are not changed as well. Another part of the debate is if the educational system would be better if we focused on improving the curriculum instead. On one side of the issue is expert and head of the Department of Education Reform Jay Greene. In the article titled “The Myth of Helplessness” Greene begins to talk about the myth of helplessness and how it is connected to education and education reform. Another expert Diane Ravitch, who is a former United State Assistant Secretary of Education, takes on the latter side of the issue in her …show more content…
Especially in relations to homeschoolers like me, since homeschooling is a direct instruction method. For students who were diagnosed with some kind of disability like I was or even have some sort of setbacks this method would help greatly. This allows for the students to not be left behind and be able to keep up with the rest of the class in terms of understanding the material. While Greene and Ravitch both have different opinions when it comes to reform, this is something that both would agree can help the education system. Greene said in his article “it is unreasonable…to expect poor and minority students to read and do math up to a defined minimum standard when they have not benefited from the superior parenting skills and resources of middle-class families” (482). He also states that different methods of reform, which includes direct instruction has been proven to improve the student performance. Ravitch would share the hope of direct instruction since she “concluded that curriculum and instruction were far more important than choice and accountability”